Hermione's Mirror
by The Dark Knight's Revenge
Summary: Hermione has a secret about her family that she hasn't told Harry or Ron yet. Once this secret slips out, will Hermione be pushed to the breaking point? Will Ron and Harry be able to help her?


Hermione sat outside in the chilly air, her back to the tent flap that offered warmth and comfort. She shivered once and considered going back inside, but shrugged it off, pulling the thin blanket she wore closer around her thin shoulders.

In her lap was a round enchanted mirror, and it was one of her secrets. She had no inkling to show it to Ron or Harry, she was almost afraid to.

If you looked closely, like the young witch was doing, you could see two people in the mirror. Hermione's parents, Jean and Norman Granger. Her hazel eyes filled with tears as she saw them sitting in a doctor's office, watching a tiny baby move on an ultrasound.

It was inevitable; her parents were sure to move on after she had wiped their memories of her. They had always wanted a second child after Hermione, and they had tried several times before, but unsuccessfully.

When Hermione left, she cast a fertility charm on her mother as a parting gift. There was no reason they shouldn't be as happy as possible now that their only daughter had been completely erased. She had also left her mother and father with two names. Oliver if the baby was boy, and Olivia Jean if it was a girl.

A couple of tears slipped down her cheeks as she saw the baby kick on the ultrasound.

Hermione clamped her mouth shut to stop her teeth from chattering. It was starting to get down to freezing, even though it was barely 3:00 in Kent, where her parents were. Out in the forest, it got cold fast.

The tent flap behind her rustled, and Ron stepped out, followed by Harry. Hermione quickly covered up the mirror and looked straight ahead.

"Mione?" Ron asked, sitting down next to her.

She looked at him and shifted back so that he couldn't see her red eyes.

"Have you been crying?" Harry asked from behind her. Damn him. He could always tell when she'd been crying.

"No" She replied unconvincingly. Harry came around to squat in front of her, his green eyes searching her face. Hermione looked away.

"Hermione" Harry said, touching her hand. She pursed her lips then stood up, forgetting about the mirror, which tumbled from her lap and rolled across the ground.

"NO!" she yelled, leaping towards it, just in time to see it roll into a puddle of slushy snow. Fighting back tears she retrieved it, wiping furiously at its scratched surface, trying to get the snow from it.

She heard Ron and Harry start towards her, so she pulled the mirror to her chest and ran inside, leaving two confused boys behind her.

"What's with that mirror thing?" Ron asked Harry as they watched Hermione shut herself in her private section of tent.

"I dunno, it must be important though" Harry replied, his brow furrowing.

* * *

Inside, Hermione couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheeks. The mirror now had a large scratch down the middle, and the glass kept smearing when she tried to wipe the snow off of it.

What hurt her more was that part of her wanted to keep this a secret from Harry and Ron. She didn't keep secrets from them, ever. Why this was so important to keep from them mystified her. Sure, she wasn't proud of what she had to do to her parents, but it was something she could share with her best friends, right?

Of course. She was being silly. She would leave her closed off section of tent, go apologize to them, and show them her baby sibling. That is what she would do.

Hermione wiped her cheeks and picked up the mirror, putting on a half-hearted smile as she stepped out into the main part of the tent.

Ron and Harry were sitting at the table, talking in hushed tones, probably about her. She cleared her throat, and they looked up, both with worried expressions on their faces.

"Mione, are you alright?" Ron asked, starting to stand up.

"I'm sorry. I-I was just on edge this afternoon. You can sit back down Ron, I want to show you both something"

Hermione slid the mirror onto the table in front of the two boys. Frozen in the glass was her mother's ultrasound.

"What's this?" Ron asked. Harry just looked at her, an unsure look on his face.

"It's my baby brother" Hermione said, unable to stop a single tear from running down her cheek as she smiled weakly. Both boys' eyes widened in shock.

Harry reacted first, launching himself out of his chair and hugging her tightly. Ron followed suit, putting his hand on her back as she let the sobs she was holding in come out.

"Oh Hermione, i'm so sorry" Harry whispered. Ron stroked her hair.

"I-I just wish I could go back to them and fix what I did so we could be a family again" Hermione could feel both of the boys press closer to her. She knew they didn't like seeing her cry.

"It'll turn out for the best 'Mione" Ron said in her ear. Gently extracting herself from them, she touched the mirror, casting the charm so that it would go back to following her parents. Then she walked to her part of the tent and went to bed, feeling worse than she did before.


End file.
